The Magic of Alchemy
by Roggy2688
Summary: Thanks to a mysterious Dimensional Alchemage, a small group of Amestrians end up in Fiore. There goal is simple: to get back home. Unfortunately, it is much easier said than done... (There is an uncreative OC so you were warned...)
1. Prologue

Prologue

He stood in the centre of the massive magical and alchemical circle, chanting a complex spell. His white hair was whipping into his face but he ignored it. The circle began glow as the power began to circulate round it. The wind died and the area around the circle fell silent. It was as if the whole world was holding its breath while the spell was cast. The lines drawn in white chalk turned black and began to glow with an ethereal, dark light. Suddenly, the lines began to swirl and contort. The white-haired Alchemage had his eyes closed and was still chanting as raw dimensional energy flooded from the black lines. The hum of power rose and fell in harmony with the strange, foreign words of the chant. Suddenly, there was a loud whooshing and the lines disintegrated. The Alchemage fell onto his knees exhausted but smiling. He had succeeded.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Desert Escapade

Vengeance was perched on the tree branch, watching the ruined house. There was something about it in Lorna's memory, but it wasn't important. The only thing that mattered to her was that Greed was somewhere inside and she had a job to do. What she didn't notice however, was the growing pool of blackness on the ground below her. With a grin of anticipation, she leapt down and sank straight into the ground, or rather, the black puddle. There was a flash of white and suddenly she was high above the ground. It was bright and hot and clearly a desert, but Vengeance was only really aware that she was falling and was eventually going to hit the ground and it was probably going to hurt quite a bit. She heard the wet snap of bones breaking as she slammed into the sand. Her ribcage collapsed on impact, several of her ribs puncturing her lungs and heart. Her spine had snapped and her skull was fractured. One of her shoulders was dislocated and both her legs were broken somewhere. She screamed in pain and anger as red sparks cracked round her. The healing process was quick and it was only seconds until she stood up, brushing sand off her clothes. The black absorbed the heat, and she felt herself begin to sweat. The heat was so intense and uncomfortable that she took off her jacket, tying it round her waist. She looked round suddenly as she heard a yell then a thud. There was a figure dressed in black lying in the sand nearby, but before she could go to them, there was a loud crash of metal against metal. Darting to the top of a sand dune, she saw the armour of Alphonse Elric half buried in the sand. Two more people appeared close to the ground and fell into the sand. Both were wearing military uniforms. Finally, there was a yell above her and she looked up to see Greed falling. She rolled out of the way just in time and he crashed into the ground where she had been not a second before. Red sparks flickered around him as he healed. Vengeance looked at him, about to pounce and repeatedly tear his throat out, but she was currently more concerned about what exactly had happened to her. Greed could be useful so she decided to only kill him once his potential usefulness ran out.

While she had been thinking, the figure in black had gotten up and stumbled over to the two soldiers. The armour had also pulled itself out of the sand and had made its way over. Vengeance glanced at the group forming nearby and frowned. Both of the Elric brothers and the Flame Colonel along with his lieutenant. She pulled her collar up to cover her Ouroboros and knelt down by Greed. He sat up suddenly, almost making her jump. His expression darkened when he saw her and darkened further when he spotted the group a little way away.

"You should have attacked me while I was healing," he said. "Why didn't you?"

"I realise that, for now at least, it would probably benefit me more to keep you alive," she replied calmly.

He thought about this for a moment, glanced around at their surroundings, then shrugged.

"Fair enough."

"This also means you owe me, so you can replay me by not saying anything about what I am to any of them," she flicked her head towards the approaching Amestrians.

"Fine. It wouldn't do to have us all fighting right now," he rubbed some sand between his fingers.

 _He'll notice straight away. Your voice is different to mine for a start. Let me take control for now. I won't say anything I swear. I don't want him to know anyway…_

Vengeance stood and sighed. Lorna was right so it wasn't like she had much of a choice, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

"Fine," she growled quietly, letting Lorna take back her body.

Lorna opened her eyes and smiled. It felt good to be in control.

 _Don't get too used to it._

Still smiling, she held out a hand to Greed and helped him up. Not that he needed it, but it was the thought that counted.

"Ling, what the Hell happened?" Ed said, as soon as he was near enough.

"It's Greed!" the Homunculus snapped. "And I have no clue what happened. I was hoping you'd know."

 _Ask the soldiers._

"Riza, Mustang," Lorna turned to face them. "How about you, any ideas?"

They shook their head. Al glanced around then bent down to examine the ground.

"We're in a desert," He said.

 _Someone give him a medal! He's a genius!_

I sighed inwardly at the sarcasm and nodded. "I take it none of us were anywhere near a desert a few minutes ago."

There was a general murmur of agreement.

"So where are we?" Mustang asked.

No one answered. Instead, the group simply looked at one another and their harsh environment. The desert stretched on as far as any of them could see, and none of them knew which way to go to get out of it. They were stuck.

 **Several Days Later**

"I got water!" Lorna yelled as she bounded down the dune into the small camp the Amestrian group had constructed using alchemy.

"Where from?" Al frowned. "The wells we make keep drying up and we haven't made a new one yet."

"There were some travellers," she said. "A caravan. They gave me some water and also told me the quickest route out of the desert."

"So we can leave?" Ed's expression was hopeful.

She grinned and nodded. A grin spread across his features at the prospect of finally getting out of the heat. His automail was already severely uncomfortable and almost unbearably painful as the sun heated the metal to the verge of burning his skin. Al also seemed cheered, although he was gladder to stop sinking into the sand since he couldn't actually feel any heat.

"Wait, we're leaving?" Mustang emerged from one of the sandstone blocks serving as shelter.

"As soon as possible. Someone wake Greed and Riza," Ed took a canteen of water from me and took a swig.

Mustang ducked inside another shelter and emerged a few minutes later with Riza. Simultaneously, Ed had woken Greed and now we were all ready to go.

"So which way are we going?" asked Greed.

"West."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Oak Town to Magnolia

Vengeance strolled down the reasonably busy street, ignoring the other people. She was only here to find any scraps of information about a possible way back to Amestris and these people were not important to her. She passed an alley, then turned back, listening to the conversation of two boys.

"When I grow up, I'm gonna be a Fairy Tail wizard!" the first said with a cocky grin.

"Oh yeah? Well I'm gonna join Blue Pegasus," the second replied.

"Fairy Tail is so much cooler!" the first snapped. "There are so many powerful wizards in Fairy Tail, they can do anything!"

"Yeah, like destroying whole towns," the second countered.

"In the best way!" the first retorted.

"This Fairy Tail," said Vengeance, stepping into the alley and making the two boys jump. "Where is it?"

"How can you not know?" the first asked. "Are you slow or something?"

Vengeance narrowed her eyes into a glare that sent shivers down the boys' spines.

"He didn't mean it," the second insisted. "Fairy Tail is in Magnolia okay. I swear he was just messing around. He didn't mean to insult you."

"Yeah," the first agreed. "I'm very sorry."

She gave them a cold smile. "I'm sure you didn't."

Vengeance turned and strode out of the alley, heading straight back to the hotel. The two boys sighed in relief once she was gone.

"What was with her?" the first asked.

"She was really scary…" the second muttered.

"Yeah and I swear something wasn't right about her…" the first said quietly.

The second nodded in agreement.

 _Was that really necessary?_

"They annoyed me," Vengeance replied under her breath so no one else could hear. "They should count themselves lucky to be unharmed."

 _Guess I shouldn't have thought any better of you._

"If you thought I'd be nicer then you only have yourself to blame for your disappointment."

 _We're getting close to the hotel, I should take control._

Vengeance didn't reply. Instead she gritted her teeth in irritation and allowed Lorna to have control.

Two hours later, the entire group from Amestris were bundled into a single small cart on their way to Magnolia. It was cramped, bumpy and generally awkward. No one said a single word for the entire journey which lasted half the day. Since they had set out at around 1pm, the arrived in Magnolia in the late afternoon at about 4pm. The cobbled streets were clean and not too crowded, the buildings were pleasant and neat. In fact, the whole town was very picturesque.

"Remind me again why we came here?" Ed asked, looking around.

"To find the Fairy Tail guild. Apparently, it's a magic guild. They take on jobs for people and they're quite well known as being very powerful. If anyone here knows what happened to us then it has to be them," Lorna replied.

"Magic guild?" Greed raised an eyebrow sceptically.

"Some people see alchemy as magic," she pointed out. "And we've heard people mention magic here before. It doesn't take a genius to work out that they're probably talking about alchemy."

"If there is a possibility of powerful alchemists living here then it is worth coming to verify those stories," said Mustang.

"Besides," Al glanced around. "It's nicer here than in Oak Town. It seems more welcoming somehow."

"Why are we wasting our time talking? Let's find this Fairy Tail, get them to help us and get back home to stop the so called Promised Day," Ed said, striding forwards.

The rest of the group glanced at each other, nodded, and then followed Fullmetal.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Fairy Tail

It didn't take them too long to find the Fairy Tail guild hall. They stood in front of it, staring up at the impressive building before them. The doors were wooden, tall and slightly intimidating and no one seemed to want to open them. The group stood for a few minutes, just staring up at them, until Greed finally snapped.

"For God's sake! They're just doors!" he strode forwards and pulled them open.

A burst of fire from inside narrowly missed his head. Lorna, Ed, Al, Roy and Riza (the latter having drawn her gun) all rushed forwards to look inside at the cause of the fire and found the most extraordinary scene. Nearly everyone inside – which was a good twenty or thirty people – were fighting. The strange thing was that method of fighting. A few stood out from the crowd, like a pink-haired boy on fire, a dark-haired boy in only his shorts, a red-head in armour pummelling a large white-haired man and oddly, the woman at the bar drinking from an entire barrel of what was probably alcohol.

"Let's shut the door and run before they see us," said Al.

"Good idea," Lorna nodded.

 _Chicken._

"Seems sensible to me," Ed agreed.

"No," Mustang said firmly. "Not after we came all this way."

"Yeah, there's no way we're leaving 'til we get what we came for," Greed said, taking a step inside.

A table flew past and hit the wall next to the Homunculus. Credit to Greed, he didn't even flinch. Instead, he took a few more steps inside, followed by Mustang and Riza and, eventually, Ed, Al and Lorna who shut the door carefully behind them. The fight continued since the combatants were too busy to notice the newcomers. However, a white-haired girl in a pink dress came over with a smile.

"Hello, my name is Mirajane. May I ask why you are here?" she was very sweet and polite.

"We were wondering if someone here could maybe help us," Riza said.

"In what way?" Mirajane asked.

"We need to get back to a place called Amestris. We were hoping someone here knew how to do that," Ed said. "We've checked maps but we couldn't find our country anywhere. Then one of us had an idea to ask a magic guild to help us get back home."

He visible flinched at the word magic, as if he was desperate to call it alchemy.

"You think that you country might only be reachable with magic?" she tilted her head.

"Yes," Lorna said. "Well, we think we got here by al- magic anyway."

"So you would like to know how you got here so you can work out how to get back home?" Mirajane smiled. "I'll put up a job request. Can I ask how much the reward will be?"

"Reward?" Greed frowned.

"Yes, the reward for the wizard who completes your job," she said patiently.

 _Not dying?_

"We don't have any money," Mustang said.

Mirajane looked sympathetic. "I don't think anyone will take on a job for free but I'll ask Master Makarov. Maybe he will get someone to help you."

"Thank, we appreciate it," Riza said.

Mirajane smiled and turned away. Her smile faded to a frown. That blonde in the strange blue uniform had sounded so much like Erza. She even looked a bit like her too. Well, except for the eye and hair colour, but still Mirajane found the similarities unsettling.

"Now what?" Greed asked.

"Find a place to stay?" suggested Al.

"We've got no money," Lorna pointed out.

"Make a place to stay?" suggested Ed.

"Duck!" yelled Mustang suddenly as a flaming table hurtled towards them.

The whole group dropped to the floor as the table smashed into the door, embers raining down behind them.

"Watch where you're throwing tables Flame Brain!" came a yell.

"You shouldn't have moved Stripper!" came the angry reply.

"What was I supposed to do Pyro!?"

"Let it hit you, duh!"

The group of Amestrians had gotten to their feet and watched as the rest of the fighters wandered to the various tables scattered around, leaving the pink-haired boy and dark-haired boy to their argument.

 _Please let me kill them._

"They didn't mean to throw it at us," Lorna muttered quietly.

 _But they did and I'm bored._

"No," she said just loud enough to be heard, earning me a strange look from Ed.

She smiled back, slightly nervously and he frowned and turned back to the two still arguing. The Amestrians turned to leave, but Mirajane approached them, followed by a very short, old man.

"Ah so you are the newcomers Mirajane has told me about. My name is Makarov, I am the Guildmaster. May I ask who you all are?"

"Edward Elric."

"I'm his younger brother Alphonse Elric."

"Younger?" Makarov frowned.

"Yes younger," Ed said, with a very forced smile.

"My name is Lorna Ridius. I'm a childhood friend of theirs."

"I'm Colonel Roy Mustang."

"And I'm Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye."

"Soldiers? I don't recognise your uniform," the Guildmaster said.

"They're Amestrian uniforms," Mustang replied.

"Afraid I've never heard of Amestris," he frowned. "But I guess that's part of your problem isn't it. And who are you?"

"Name's Greed."

"Interesting name."

"I'm an interesting person," he replied with a slight grin.

"So it would seem," Makarov didn't return the smile. "So you all came here for help?"

"Yes. We just want to get home except that we don't really know where home is exactly," Ed explained.

"And you can't find it on any maps and no one has heard of it," Makarov said. "Wait here in the guild hall. I will go and check the library for anything that might be of use to you. It could take a few hours so feel free to have a drink or two on the house of course."

 _So we just have to wait? That's it? The best they can do is check a bloody library?!_

"Calm down," Lorna whispered irritably. "They may have something useful in that library."

"We may as well sit down," said Al, finding an empty table.

The Amestrians joined him and they sat in silence, each contemplating the possibility of there not actually being a way back home and what they would do if that was the case. Greed began to drum his fingers on the table in boredom and Ed was already fidgeting. Al, Mustang and Riza sat patiently, as did Lorna, despite Vengeance moaning inside her head. After another hour, even Mustang began to look bored.

"I can't take this waiting," complained Ed.

"I feel like we should be doing something," Lorna sighed. "Not just sitting around. I've never liked leaving stuff to others, I prefer to do things myself."

"It's clear they don't want us in their library and so if we want the information, we just have to wait," Riza said.

Ed sank down onto the table and noticed Greed was carving a smiley face with his fingernail. So even homunculus got that bored. Lorna's head was resting in her hands and she was rubbing her temples as if she had a headache. Al wasn't paying much attention, instead he was watching the other people in the guild hall. If the magic of this land really was just alchemy then why was it so different? Another hour crawled by but the Amestrians had a chance to relieve their boredom when a few members of the guild came over to them.

"Haven't seen you guys before," said the pink-haired boy. "Are you here to join the guild?"

"Not really," Greed said, finishing off his very detailed smiley face.

"That mark on your hand, I've never seen one like it. What guild are you from?" the blond girl asked.

"I'm not from a guild," he replied.

"Then what-"

"It's a long story," Lorna cut him off.

"So if you're not here to join then why are you here?" the dark-haired boy asked.

"We came to get some help. Your guild master is looking something up for us in the library," Mustang replied.

"Oh I see. My name is Lucy by the way. Lucy Heartfelia," the blonde smiled in a friendly manner.

"I'm Grey Fullbuster and the pink-haired idiot here is Natsu Dragneel," the dark-haired boy said.

"Don't call me an idiot!" Natsu snapped indignantly.

"Maybe I wouldn't if you stopped acting like one," Grey retorted.

They continued arguing, though the Amestrians decided to just let them get on with it.

"So what are your names?" Lucy asked, also ignoring the two arguing boys.

They all introduced themselves while Lucy stood and listened. She frowned slightly upon learning that Roy and Riza were soldiers, but her frown changed to a raised eyebrow as Greed spoke his name.

"Your name is really Greed?" she asked, in a slightly condescending tone. "Were your parents serious cynics or something?"

"It's a long story," he replied, unfazed by her tone of voice.

"Fair enough," she shrugged and wandered off.

The two boys however, were already starting to pair their insults with physical attacks, but they didn't get very far in their fight before a red-head in armour stepped up behind them, a terrifyingly dark expression on her face.

"I hope you two aren't bothering these people," she said threateningly.

The boys froze and turned to face the newcomer. The Amestrians seemed shocked at the newcomer's voice. It was identical to Riza's. In fact, she even looked the same, aside from the hair and eye colour of course.

"Of course not Erza," Natsu smiled but his voice was small and scared.

"And you better not have been fighting either," Erza said, in a petrifying calm tone.

"Nope, just a friendly joke between good buddies," Grey replied, shaking in terror.

"Aye!" Natsu fearfully agreed.

"Good, now run along."

They nodded and darted off, resuming their argument out of sight of Erza.

"Sorry about those two. They can be a handful. My name is Erza Scarlet." When they seemed about to reply, she held up a hand. "I know who you all are. Lucy told me."

They were saved from conversation with this almost-doppelganger when the guild master Makarov came up to the table.

"What did you find?" asked Ed eagerly.

"Nothing good I'm afraid," he said solemnly and unrolled a scroll onto the table.

The group peered at it. The scroll itself was yellowed parchment and on it were a number of diagrams and symbols that could be words except that none of the Amestrians could recognise them. There was a map of Amestris near the bottom of the scroll with another map overlaying it.

"Sorry gramps, but we can't read this," Greed frowned.

"No, I didn't expect you to," Makarov replied. "I was hoping though that you would be able to confirm that the map at the bottom is indeed your country."

"Yeah, that's Amestris all right," said Ed. "But the other map overlaying it? I have no clue as to that one."

"That's Fiore, this country," Makarov explained. "And the scroll is a theory written a long time ago. It says that there are infinite words overlapping each other and that there are a few who have the ability to send others into different worlds. Amestris and Fiore overlap each other but are in completely different worlds."

"Wait, are you saying that we're in another universe?" asked Mustang, shocked.

"It would seem so," replied Makarov.

"That's not possible," Lorna said in disbelief.

"This isn't the first time we have encountered people from another world," Erza said. "A group of us went to another world called Edolas. It was almost a parallel to this one, but it was definitely another universe."

"If that is really true, then how do we get back to our own world?" Al asked.

"This is the not so good part," Makarov admitted. "The only way to travel between worlds is through a Dimensional Portal. Very few people are able to actually create one, let alone connect it to a specific world. Your best bet would probably be to find the one who sent you here and persuade him to send you back."

"But we don't know who did it!" Ed's voice was laced with anger. "And what if they're still in Amestris? How are we supposed to contact them?"

"Brother, calm down," Al said gently. "Is there really no other way?"

"I'm afraid not," Makarov said.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Lorna asked. "We've got no money, no place to stay, no knowledge of this world and now no way home."

"Why not join the guild?" suggested Erza. "You'd be able to earn money by doing jobs and you could use our library to research Dimensional Magic. Also, any news of unusual types of magic tends to end up at guild halls somehow."

"That actually doesn't seem like too bad an idea," Mustang said after a moment's thought.

"There's only one catch," Makarov said.

"Which is?" Greed asked.

"To be able to join a magic guild, you need to be able to perform magic," said Erza.

"Well most of us can perform alchemy," said Al. "We think it might be our world's equivalent to magic."

"Let's see it," said Makarov.

Ed clapped his hands together and placed them on the table. There was a flash of light and blue sparks. Where Ed had placed his hands, the wood in the table had changed shape into a little model horse. Al clapped his hands and made a model cat. Makarov nodded, impressed and turned to Mustang who snapped his fingers causing a small explosion of fire that burnt the two models into ashes.

"So are you three the only ones who can perform alchemy?" Erza asked.

"No, Lorna can do it too. Come one Lorna, show them," Ed said.

 _Oh no, whatever will you do? You know homunculi can't perform alchemy, but what will dear Edward say if he knew? Looks like your little game is over. You can't hide what you are any longer Lorna. Just tell him straight. There is no excuse you can make that he will believe._

Lorna's hands were shaking. "I'm sorry, I can't."

"Why not?" Ed frowned.

"I just can't," she snapped, then her eyes widened. "I'm sorry. I… I need to tell you something but now isn't the time. Just trust me on this. Please."

His frown deepened, but he didn't say anything else.

"If the rest can't do alchemy, then I'm afraid you can't join the guild," Makarov said, trying to be gentle about it.

"Hey gramps, would this pass as magic?" Greed asked, his Ultimate Shield sliding up his hands. "Oh and I'm basically immortal too."

"Since you're only going to be temporary members, that will be enough," Makarov was about to turn away, when Lorna leant over and whispered something in his ear.

"I see. Well then it's only Riza who cannot join I'm afraid."

"But she can still come with us on jobs to help?" asked Mustang.

"Of course," said Erza. "And of course the money you make will be yours to spend as you please so you can split it with your friend if you choose."

"I'm going to have to leave you now, but Erza will help you with all the formalities of joining the guild. If you want to look at this scroll further, you can find it in the library," and with that, Makarov grabbed the scroll and walked off.

"Come with me," Erza said and the Amestrians stood up. "I believe Mirajane has the guild mark magic stamp so you will need to talk to her."

They followed her over to the bar, where the white-haired girl from earlier, Mirajane, was washing tankards. She smiled at them.

"Mirajane, we will be needing the guild mark stamp," Erza said.

"Oh, so you are joining after all," she said kindly. "I'll just go and get it."

They each were stamped in turn, choosing the colour and placement of the Fairy Tail guild mark. Alphonse was stamped in red on the shoulder which didn't have the Flamel mark. Ed's mark was black and was placed on the top right of his chest. Mustang's mark was a golden yellow and was on his right shoulder blade. Greed's mark was red and on the back of his right hand and Lorna's mark was also red but was situated on her right arm, between her shoulder and elbow. Riza of course, wasn't officially joining the guild so she didn't get stamped.

"You're now officially members of the Fairy Tail guild," Mirajane smiled warmly. "Welcome to the family!"


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – And It Seemed So Simple…

After spending the night at the guild hall, the Amestrians sat the next morning discussing what to do about their current predicament.

"Someone should stay here to do research about Dimensional Magic," Riza said. "It makes sense if one of the alchemists stay since you're used to spending large amounts of time researching."

"I'll stay," volunteered Al. "I'm probably the most patient out of us all anyway."

"One of us should also be investigating the town and looking for a place for us all to stay," Mustang said.

"I think I can handle that sir," Riza said.

"And the rest of us?" asked Ed.

"We're going to find a job to do so we can earn some money," replied Mustang.

"Right, well you and Greed can go and pick," Ed stood up and glanced at Lorna. "Lorna and I need to talk."

She visibly shrank, but stood up and followed him outside into the slightly less busy courtyard. They wandered over to a secluded corner, then Ed rounded on her.

"Want to explain what you meant yesterday?"

 _The big reveal! So much drama and emotion._

"I… I can't do alchemy anymore," she muttered. "I resigned as a State Alchemist a few days before we ended up here."

"But why? I don't understand. You can't just suddenly lose the ability to perform alchemy."

"It would appear you can if…" she trailed off then took a deep breath. "If you're no longer human…"

"No longer human?!" Ed almost yelled. "What the Hell does that even mean Lorna? Just give me a straight answer. Surely I deserve at least that much."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she pulled down her collar and showed him the Ouroboros. His eyes widened and he took a step back, rage boiling in his expression.

"You're… You're a Homunculus?!" Ed shook his head. "But you can't be. You still act like you!"

"Only while I'm in control," Lorna said, shaking with shame. "I was investigating the tunnels in Central and they got me. I'm so sorry Ed, I really am. I didn't want this."

"While you're in control? Then you're like Greed and Ling?" he seemed to be just about dealing with this new shock.

She nodded. "The Homunculus is called Vengeance. I was her first body so she wasn't strong enough to destroy my soul, hence the dual personality."

"Then you're still Lorna?" he seemed desperate to believe it. "It's not just an act."

A tear rolled down her face. "I'm still Lorna."

 _Not for long. The cat's out of the bag and now it's my turn to play._

She gasped as Vengeance began to forcefully take control.

"What is it?" Ed's expression was laced with worry.

"Sorry that you have to deal with her so soon after finding out but I can't fight her, she's too strong," Lorna grimaced. "Please forgive me…"

Vengeance stretched and looked at Fullmetal. "So good to properly meet you."

"I take it you're Vengeance," Ed's voice was tinged with hate.

"So friendly," the Homunculus laughed. "Ah well. I wonder if they've picked a job yet."

She ignored the glare from Ed and strode back inside. She went over to the job board but Greed and Mustang met her halfway. Mustang was holding a sheet of paper.

"What have you got there?" she asked.

"Your voice…" Mustang frowned.

Greed was grinning. "Oh hello, I was wondering when you'd show up, Vengeance."

"Vengeance?" then Mustang noticed her neck. "Homunculus!"

Vengeance's slightly amused smile widened. "Oh, you noticed."

Mustang looked about ready to roast her alive, when Ed came up to him.

"Leave it colonel," he said, sounding slightly defeated. "Just don't."

"You still haven't answered my question, Mustang," Vengeance looked at the paper he was holding. "What's that you've got there?"

"A job I thought might suit us. I'm pretty sure the reward is decent, but since we don't know much about this world, I don't really know," he handed the paper to her, his eyes narrowed.

 **Please Help!**

 **My daughter was kidnapped by a group of bandits.**

 **Please come to Kunugi to help.**

 **Reward**

 **600, 000**

"Seems simple enough," Vengeance said after reading it through. "How do we get to this Kunugi place then?"

"There's a train," said Greed. "It should only take about half an hour."

"Good I hate long journeys. What are we waiting for? Let's go already," she said impatiently.

"We should probably let Mirajane know we're going first," Ed said, heading over to the bar with the rest of the group in tow.

"Ah, so you've chosen a job I see," she smiled, looking at it. "Are you sure you don't want something easier for your first job?"

"This'll be fine," Greed said.

"Well, good luck to you!" she waved as they left the guild hall.

Natsu, Grey and Lucy wandered over to Mirajane, followed by Happy.

"Did they take that rescue job?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Damn! We were gonna take that!" Natsu moaned.

"There are lots of other jobs Natsu," Mirajane said with her usual smile.

"C'mon Charcoal Breath," Grey said. "Let's go and pick another one."

The train journey hadn't lasted that long and soon they were in Kunugi. Mustang was reading through the small print at the bottom of the paper. There was an address there so the group set out to find the house of the person who had posted the job. As they wandered the streets, people stared as the odd group passed. They eventually came to the house listed in the address on the job request. It looked only a little bigger than the rest of the houses around it but other than that there were no discerning features. The rag tag bunch walked up to the front door and Mustang knocked. The woman who answered the door looked timid and frail and there was a definite trace of fear in her eyes.

"Are you… Did you come to save my daughter?" her voice was full of hope and longing.

"Yes we did ma'am," Mustang replied. "We came from the Fairy Tail guild."

"Please come in," she held open the door for them all. "I'll tell you all I know."

She led them into a cosy living room and gestured for them to sit down. There was just enough room as long as all four of them squeezed onto the sofa. The woman sat on the armchair and dabbed at her eyes with an embroidered handkerchief.

"It was only three days ago," she said, sniffling. "We were… out picking flowers in the meadows around town when they suddenly attacked us. They dragged my poor daughter Holly away with them. Then the next day they… they came to my house. They said I had to pay them 1, 000, 000 by the end of the week … or they would… or they would kill my poor daughter… But I don't have the money they wanted! And if they find out I went to the guilds for help… My precious child will…"

She broke down into tears, blowing into the hanky. The group glanced at each other, unsure of what to do. The woman's sobs eventually subsided and she looked at them, her face still wet with tears.

"Please you have to help… You have to save her… You're my only hope of ever seeing my poor daughter again!" she was on the verge of tears again.

"Don't worry, we promise to get your daughter back," Ed said, standing up. "You can count on us."

"Oh thank you!" she began to sob again, face buried in her hanky.

Mustang got up and went over to her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. "Could you show us the direction they took your daughter?"

"I can do more…" she got up and began to rummage in a drawer. She brought out a map of the local area and pointed to a place outside of town. "That is where they are based. That's where they… where they took my Holly…"

"Then there's no time to waste," said Ed. "We have a girl to rescue."

The two homunculi seemed unmoved by the crying woman, but got up anyway. Greed resisted the urge to ask about the money as they left the house.

"What a pathetic human," said Vengeance.

"Watch it," snapped Ed. "She's just scared of losing her daughter."

"I'm well aware," Vengeance glanced back over her shoulder at the house. The woman was watching them from a window. "Anyway, let's go get that girl back. Those thugs need teaching a lesson."

"Sudden change of heart?" asked Greed, almost teasingly.

"No," she grinned. "But if the girl's mother is too weak to get revenge for them taking her daughter then I guess I'll just have to do it for her."

The group stood in front of the bandit's lair, working out what the plan was. The base itself was a stone block that stood at least three storeys high. Square windows were cut at regular intervals along the rough, brown, stone surface of the building, but only on the ground and first floors. In the centre of the ground floor wall was a large rectangular door with a strange symbol carved above it. There was a strange energy radiating around the whole place and something that made the group of Amestrians think that this was probably not just a normal group of bandits.

"So what's the plan?" asked Greed, turning away from the building to face the others.

"I say we just storm in there and take them head on," said Ed, clenching his fists.

"Idiot," snapped Vengeance. "We have to be more cunning. Who knows how many there are inside."

"I hate to say it but she's right," agreed Mustang. "Besides, if they work out who we are then they'll work out the girl's mother sent us. If they make that connection then there's a very real possibility that they'll kill her before we can get to her."

"So we're going for a stealthy approach," Greed glanced at the building. "Then we should split up to search the place. We'll cover more ground and it'll be easier for us to avoid being noticed."

They nodded and went towards the building. Greed darted through a window on the ground floor, disappearing down the torch-lit corridor while Vengeance clambered up to a second floor window. Ed was headed round the back of the building and Mustang went in through a ground floor window.

Once round the back, Ed peered through a window and spotted a set of darkened stairs going down. He climbed through the window and hurried down the steps, sticking to the shadows as much as possible. His footsteps echoed no matter how hard he tried to hide them but it looked like this place was deserted. When he came to the bottom of the stairs, he froze. There was a thuggish man sat at a table. Behind him were what looked like cells and there was a lot of strange noises coming from then. The man had his back to Ed so, very carefully, the small alchemist crept forwards. Suddenly, he leapt, his automail fist connecting with the man's head. The brute was out cold without a sound.

Meanwhile, Mustang had found a room full weapons. There were mostly swords and spears and stuff, but there were a couple of what looked like rifles too. Curious, he reached for one, but as he grasped it, he could feel a dark energy flowing through it. He quickly let go and backed away. Something was telling him that all the weapons in here possessed a similar dark power so he decided to leave them. Opening the door a tiny bit, he peered out into a corridor. There were a few people moving up and down it but it was dimly lit by spluttering torches and there were plenty of shadows. Still, it would be very difficult to move about unnoticed. Silently closing the door, he pondered what to do.

Greed found himself alone in a dark corridor. Since no one else seemed to be around, he didn't bother trying to hide. Striding down the middle of the hallway, he put his hands in his pockets and walked on. Occasionally, he would come to a door which he would check. All of them led to what looked like basic bedrooms. He would have called them cells if it hadn't been for the fact that none of them were locked. With a deepening frown, he continued and eventually came to a ladder leading up to the second floor and a dead end. He suddenly heard voices further down the corridor behind him, so he scurried up the ladder without much hesitation. The room he was in was dark and smelled musty. The dust was so thick that it was almost choking. Above him he heard muffled cheering.

The faint cheering above was what piqued Vengeance's curiosity. If she listened carefully, she could swear she heard what could be growls as well. The room she had climbed into was empty and only lit by the light from the window. She peered out of the door and saw that no one else was around. Moving silently, she crept along the corridor, sticking to the edges and moving quickly past the torches. She actually wanted to run into someone and give them some kind of pay back for kidnapping this woman's daughter, but she knew if they found one of their own lying dead then they'd know something was up.

 _We're not here to kill anyone, we're only here to rescue Holly._

"Whatever," she muttered in reply. "Someone needs to show these guys that actions have consequences and it might as well be me. I'd have thought you'd have wanted justice for them kidnapping the girl."

 _Justice and revenge are two completely different things._

"If you say so," the homunculus smiled.

"Listen, I swear I just heard someone talking," came a voice from down the hall.

"Crap," she breathed and ducked into the closest door.

"You're imagining things," came another voice, this one sounded more feminine. "No one is supposed to be on this floor. Besides, everyone's at the games."

"But I could have sworn-" the first began to insist.

"Just drop it," the woman said irritably. "We have a job to do and it isn't chase after figments of your imagination. Let's go."

"Fine…"

Two sets of footsteps echoed away into silence.

"That was close," Vengeance slipped back out into the hall. "That was your fault."

 _I'm not the one talking to myself._

Vengeance gritted her teeth in anger, her hands clenching into fists. She took a breath to calm herself down, then carefully moved further along the corridor, keeping a steady pace so as not to catch up with the two from a second ago.

Ed sighed and looked into the next cell. Same as before, the creature inside was nothing but a monster and definitely not the girl he was looking for. None of these cells seemed to hold any people, but there certainly was a wide array of beasts in this world of magic. The alchemist wondered if mythical creatures like dragons or unicorns existed in this world as well. His train of thought was disrupted by the sound of people on the stairs. There was nowhere for him to go; it was a dead end. Suddenly, there was a shout. They'd discovered the unconscious guard. Ed cursed and whipped round, ready for a fight. Unfortunately, he never even got a chance to dodge the blow that knocked him out. The wizard who'd attacked him had sneaked up close and struck before Fullmetal even knew what had happened.

"An intruder. What should we do with him?"

"Put him in the holding cell. He can join the games when he wakes up."

"You think he came alone?"

"He can't have been that stupid."

"Alert the patrols, we have some unwanted guests with an appointment in the arena. I'd hate for them to miss it."

One of the wizards picked up Ed and slung him over his shoulder, carrying him off back up the stairs.

Roy frowned and risked another look outside. There seemed to be something going on. People were rushing about to and fro, barging into rooms. He backed away from the door as several of them charged into the weapons room. The colonel barely had enough time to hide behind a rack of swords before they came in. One was holding a torch and they began to search the room. Mustang pulled on his Ignition Gloves and got ready to fight. Like Fullmetal, he didn't get the chance. One of the mages knocked into a shelf, sending a heavy box crashing down onto him. He was knocked out by the force.

"Clumsy idiot!"

"I'm so sorry! Wait, look."

"Arlo was right, the kid wasn't alone."

"What should we do?"

"Put him with his little buddy."

The people behind Greed had begun to climb the ladder, but the Homunculus was ready for them. As the first came up, he took a swipe at them with his shielded hand. The poor man yelped as the claws tore through the skin of his arm. He let go and fell back down, whimpering. The other one dove under the second of Greed's attacks and drew a dagger. It glowed in the dark with an eerie green light. The wizard grinned and sliced at Greed, who blocked with his Ultimate Shield. The dagger, though enchanted, bounced off the grey skin. The wizard's cocky grin changed to a determined frown as he attacked again and again. He was fast, but Greed was faster. It only took moments for the homunculus to pin the human down, knocking the dagger from his grip. Fear clouded the man's eyes and Greed was about to strike a finishing blow. Suddenly, he yelled with pain and staggered back, the tip of the dagger just visible in his chest. He reached round and pulled it from his back, red sparks flashing round the wound. The wizard he'd knocked down the ladder stumbled back in fear as Greed's expression flashed with anger.

"Sleep Magic, Dream Cloud!" shouted the terrified mage.

A purple cloud surrounded Greed. At first, it merely annoyed him, but then he began to feel dizzy. He cursed as his vision blurred and faded to black. He crumpled to the floor unconscious.

"Ha! Not so tough now!" said the other, getting to his feet and kicking the prone homunculus.

"Desor, leave it. Let's take him to the holding cell with the others."

"Tch, fine," said the one addressed as Desor, giving Greed a final kick.

Vengeance prowled after the two wizards, keeping a safe distance. Maybe they could lead her to this Holly girl. Not that she knew it, but her plan was sound. The two she was following had been assigned to guard the humans in the holding cell. Not that she'd get the chance to enjoy her luck. They suddenly stopped and turned, heading straight back towards her. She ducked into a doorway and held her breath and they passed. She waited another few seconds just to be sure, then took a breath. Frowning, she made her way further along the corridor, darting into the shadows to avoid a second group.

 _They seem kind of riled up._

Vengeance nodded in agreement, not wanting to speak in case they heard her. The group eventually moved off, allowing her to follow. She felt a sudden pain on her neck and she fell forwards with a yell. The two she had been following and doubled back and snuck up on her.

"Damn it!" she leapt to her feet and backed up against a wall as the mages who'd just left came running back.

She was outnumbered 6 to 1 but still she grinned. Her fingernails lengthened and sharpened and she crouched, ready to spring into action. One of them swung a metal pole at her. It cracked with a strange energy. She ducked and sliced her claws across his hand. He sprang back, still clutching the pole. Two more charged her, bright colours swirling round them. Vengeance leapt over them, whipping round and slicing open their backs. They toppled to the floor with yells of pain. Without waiting for another attack, she went straight for the only woman, claws aimed at her throat. The woman sidestepped and performed a strange hand movement. The shadows sharpened and went straight for the homunculus, who barely managed to avoid the attack.

 _She fights like Pride!_

"Not quite," Vengeance replied, avoiding another attack. "She has a technique, but isn't half as strong."

Vengeance was so busy avoiding the woman's attacks that she left herself open to attack from behind. One of the other wizards had tackled her, his hands flashing with a dangerous light. Vengeance yelled as pain laced through her body. She stumbled away from him and he grinned as the woman's shadows sliced through her arm. Blood splattered the wall behind her and she gritted her teeth at the pain. The woman pulled her shadows back and red sparks flashed round the homunculus' wounds, healing them almost instantaneously. The wizards gasped in shock and Vengeance's grin returned. She used their surprise to her advantage, attacking when they weren't ready. She went for the closest person and slashed her claws across their chest. They cried out as they toppled over, blood spurting from the wound.

 _No fatalities!_

"Chill," she replied, dodging a wave of the woman's shadows. "It's just a scratch. I very much doubt he'll die from it."

"Who do you keep talking to?" the woman demanded.

"Like I'd tell you," Vengeance retorted and ducked beneath another sharped shadow.

A metal pole came out of nowhere, striking her side. She coughed, winded, and stumbled back. The man who owned it was holding it in his uninjured hand and glaring. Behind him was the other man still able to fight and to the side of them was the shadow woman. Vengeance's eyes narrowed and her smirk faded. With a shout of anger, she charged the man with the enchanted pole. He swung wildly, panicking as she closed in. She dodged with ease but was forced back by the other man's magic hands. Those hands caused pain she didn't want to feel again. She growled and ran towards the men, suddenly darting to the side and swiping at the woman. The shadow woman didn't have time to do anything other than scream as Vengeance's claws cut into her side. She fell, gasping in pain.

"Bella!" yelled the man with the pole, rushing to the woman's defence.

Vengeance laughed and dodged his feral attack. She caught the pole in his next swing. His eyes widened as she wrenched it from his grip and swung it at him. A burst of energy spread from the pole as it made contact with him. He was knocked out. She rounded on the last man, and snarled when she found he was gone. A fierce pain jolted through her body and she cried out, leaping away, the pole falling from her grip. He'd gone up behind her. He seemed perfectly calm, while she was panting.

"How dare you!" she shouted at him.

He didn't reply, or even move. It was clear he was waiting on her. She darted towards him only to be knocked back by a pulse of his magic. She slammed into a wall and fell to the floor.

"Pain Magic, Agony Zone," he said in a deep voice.

A bright yellow circle spread out under her. Suddenly her body was filled with unbearable pain. Vengeance screamed, losing all focus. She writhed and spasmed, her claws retracting. He came up to her, looking down. She saw a sadistic smile spread across his features, then she blacked out.

 **Author's Note: Sorry this chapter was so long! I'll try and shorten them in future.**


End file.
